Lauren Tapscott

Lauren Tapscott

BSc (Hons) Psychology

My final exams of second year of Psychology are complete. It definitely was not an easy time for me or any university student for that matter. Long working hours in the library, copious amounts of coffee and Red Bull, and dreaming of surfing. In fact one day me and my course mate were in the library attempting to revise for our first exam- and one thing led to another… We checked the surf forecast, and could not resist leaving the library to go for a surf across to Bude (1 hour drive away). We had buried ourselves in books and lecture recordings until it got too much so had to take a well-earned break that day. But that hard work we put into hours upon hours of studying means I have completed my second year.

Summer has begun, and so far it has been incredible! A couple of months ago I completed my lifeguarding and surf instructor course, so now I am able to coach surfing lessons as another part time job. I have family and friends living in Polzeath in Cornwall, and was very blessed with being asked by a surf school to work for them over thee school kids holidays. So, a couple of mates helped me move a lot of gear out of my house for the summer, then it was straight off to Polzeath to work.

During the first week I had 2 hour lessons to teach back to back, with beginners and intermediate learners ranging from the ages of 5 to 50! I have been fortunate to teach such an array of people from all different walks of life. There has not been a dull day of teaching so far, and I hope to continue this job through to next year alongside my Red bull Brand manager job whilst I study. The Surf school ‘Surfs Up’ has welcomed me into their team with open arms.

Polzeath is only around an hour’s drive from Plymouth. I have witnessed some beautiful sunsets in this family friendly village on the beach. There is a super cool hangout called ‘Tube station’ which overlooks the beach. The surf instructors from surfs up and other surf schools at Polzeath hang out there between lessons to grab a coffee from the café, or use the half pipe skate ramp to blow off some steam. It is also a Christian surfer’s church on a Sunday, which is only noticeable by the wooden cross on the skate ramp, and on the ceiling of the building are surf boards with disciples names glassed in. It’s pretty cool and is a must see.